Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
The present invention relates generally to the sport of fishing and, particularly, to troll fishing using planer boards.
The background information discussed below is presented to better illustrate the novelty of the present invention. This background information is not admitted prior art.
To be successful at fishing, a fisherman must understand what motivates a fish to xe2x80x9cbite.xe2x80x9d In other words, a fisherman must know what stimuli will induce a fish into attacking its prey. Carnivorous fish stalk their prey as it moves through the water. That is, carnivorous fish strike at moving targets. So, to capture a carnivorous fish, a fisherman should provide for the bait to move through the water. This frequently is accomplished by fishing from a moving boat. The boat, along with its noisy engine, however, often xe2x80x9cspooksxe2x80x9d the fish. In fact, many fish species found in shallow waters routinely move away from a boat""s path of travel. To overcome this problem, fishermen often use planer boards.
There are two types of planer boards that are used for trolling. One is used only for deep water fishing. The other is used for fishing in shallow water or where fish are feeding near the surface and is the type of planer under consideration here. This type of board is often referred to as a xe2x80x9csideplanerxe2x80x9d as it floats on the water""s surface generally parallel to and at a predetermined distance from the side of a boat and is frequently used in salmon and trout trolling. Sideplaners are conventionally long plastic or wooden surface-running boards. Fishermen like to use the sideplaners as they make the presentation of the bait to the fish much more versatile than when a fishing line is simply run out behind a boat.
Sideplaners can be attached directly to the fishing boat using a non-fishing line. In this case the fishing line or lines are attached to the non-fishing line at predetermined positions between the boat and the planer. This type of sideplaner is usually used when there is more than one fisherperson on the boat or when one person wants to fish with multiple lines.
Multiple sideplaners can be attached to a boat. By adjusting the lengths of the non-fishing line that is tethering one or several planers to the boat, a number of planers can run along one or both sides of a boat.
A smaller version sideplaner is attached directly to the fishing line. This planer has a strike release that releases the planer from the fishing line when a fish strikes.
The proper distance for a planer to be from the side of boat depends on several factors, which include how clear the water is, the shallowness of the water, and how other boats are in the vicinity. Most often, tolling line lengths are of about 70 feet, but lengths of 200 feet are not uncommon.
During daylight, a fisherperson has no difficulty keeping track of a planer""s position because the planer floats on the water""s surface. When fishing at night, however, seeing the planer, and knowing when a fish has struck, is problematic. It is, thus, clearly apparent that there is a need for a planer with a strike indicator that will alert the fisher people to the fact that a fish is striking.
There have been a few attempts at making planers more visible. Some planers have parts painted with a reflective paint, but this only makes the planer more visible during day light hours, at the time when there is little problem keeping the planer in sight. There have been only a few attempts at providing a planer with a light indicator, but all have serious drawbacks.
One attempt offers a planer with a lighting system that is based on a rather complex electronic circuit. The circuit comprises a fishing line release mechanism, a cam that is activated by the fishing line release mechanism, a spring that is activated by the cam, and a contact that is activated by the spring. A light is positioned on a first surface of the planer that also holds the fishing line release mechanism, while the cam and the spring are on a second surface, which is perpendicular to the first surface. On the second surface there is another electrical contact which is positioned to overhang off of the second surface over the third surface that is opposite to the first surface. This means that the electricity needed to power the light has to travel from the battery located on the first surface, across the second surface to the closed contact point, then back across the second surface to the light on the first surface. In addition to a light indicator, this planer also offers a flag strike indicator. The flag is activated to spring up from its closed position at the same time that the light is activated. One of the major problems of this apparatus is that its battery, light, wiring, fishing line release, cam, two springs (one in the light circuit and one that acts to uplift the flag), and the contact are attached to the outside of the planer. This means that all of these pieces and the wiring are subject to corrosion, especially if the planer is used in salt water. Even if the water body is fresh water, corrosion rates are accelerated when the part to be corroded is in water. Another concern to fisher people is that all of these component parts are projecting out from three of the surfaces of the planer presenting multiple possibilities for the fishing line to become tangled with the projecting parts. The complexity of this system indicates a high manufacturing cost and fairly easy breakage of the many delicate parts. Undoubtedly, what is sorely needed is a planar that, while providing for a light and a strike indicator, has no electrical wiring or connections that are exposed to the elements, especially to water. What is equally sorely needed is a planer with a minimum amount of parts projecting from the surface to minimize the threat of a fishing line becoming tangled with the projecting parts.
A sideplaner with a light powered from the power system of the boat has been suggested. This envisioned system, however, would suffer from the same problems discussed above. To supply power to the light on the planer from the boat would require electrical wiring that would either have to replace the line that holds the planer to the boat, i.e., wiring that could both provide electricity and hold the planer to the boat, or wiring that would accompany the non-fishing line. The wiring would be exposed to the elements and to the damage presented by them, as well as by the strain the wires can be expected to encounter while a fisherman is bringing in his fish, and also would pose a tangle hazard to the fishing line. Additionally, with these planers the light is powered only when a fish is striking. In other words, if the planer were to be used for night fishing, there is no way to track the position of the planer, except during the time a fish strikes. It is apparent that there is a long-felt need for a planer that can be kept lighted while fishing and yet, additionally, provides for strike indication during the day and at night.
Accordingly, it would be a significant improvement in the art to provide a side planer that provided all the advantages currently provided by a planer and would also comprise a steady light to indicate the position of the planer in addition to a strike indicator to signal fisher people when a fish took the bait, wherein the electrical system of the planer would be safely stored inside the planer""s water-tight shell so as not to be exposed to chemical or physical weathering processes and so as not to entangle fishing line. Such a planer should be light-weight, to maintain its position above the surface of the water, and should have as few metal parts as possible on the outside of the planer to avoid the effects of corrosion and any interruption of the power supply. The ideal planer would be made of as few parts as possible to reduce the cost of manufacturing and the hazards of breakage.
The present invention satisfies the urgent need in the art for a trolling assembly comprising a lighted planer board with strike indicator that offers the highest level of bait presentation while troll fishing in shallow water. The trolling assembly of the present invention comprises a planer board comprising an enclosed, hollow casing having at least one interior compartment. A first compartment is a watertight compartment fashioned to house the power supply, lighting system, strike indicator, and related electrical connections to keep all of the power-related elements sheltered from the risks of damage by the elements and, additionally, to keep the electrical components away from the fishing line, thus eliminating potential tangling hazards. At least one of the lights that is housed in the water-tight compartment may be set to emit continuous light when night fishing. The strike indicator, also housed in the water-tight compartment, is designed to alert fisher people when a fish has accepted the bait, regardless of when one is fishing, day or night.
The novel planer board casing has an hydrodynamic tapered leading edge and an hydrodynamic curved edge between the inboard surface of the planer and the longitudinal lower surface. This curved edge directs the water flow beneath the board which reduces resistance between board and water and, thus, eliminates the need for heavy fishing equipment such as planning board rods and heavy test lines. Additionally, the trolling assembly, described herein, is lightweight, of few parts, and has no metal parts or other easily weathered parts exposed to the elements. The planar casing, made of light weight material is buoyant, but, if desired, additional buoyancy is achieved by placing a buoyant object in a second compartment in the hollow space of the board casing.
The trolling assembly is towed by the fishing line and is held in a towing mode by one of the line releases, If it is desired to keep the trolling assembly securely attached to the boat while playing a fish, the fishing line may be fixedly secured to the fishing line release, or if it is desired to have the trolling assembly completely detach from the fishing line while a fish is being played, the fishing line may be secured to the release in a manner that will permit the planer to be released. The fishing line releases used by the planer each comprise only three parts that can be economically produced by many methods, including injection molding, and have no metal parts.
In a preferred embodiment, the trolling assembly of the present invention comprises:
i) a buoyant planer board having a water-tight compartment;
ii) at least one fishing line release extending from the planer board for the purpose of holding a fishing line;
iii) an easily perceptible strike indicator integral with the planer board;
iv) a power source housed in the water-tight compartment providing power to said strike indicator, and
v) an activation means operatively connected to the fishing line and the power source for the purpose of activating the strike indicator when a fish strikes.
The activation means comprises a plunger having a first end and a second end with the first end of the plunger projecting out from the water-tight compartment proximate to the fishing line release and operatively connected to a fishing line, and with the second end of the plunger projecting into the water-tight compartment of the planer;
iv) a first electrical contact;
v) a second electrical contact;
vi) a biasing means operatively connected to the plunger to maintain the first and second electrical contacts apart, wherein when a fish strikes the fishing line release releases the fishing line exerting a pulling pressure on the plunger to work against the biasing means causing the first and second electrical contacts to connect and activating the strike indicator.
The trolling assembly may further comprising a second fishing line release extending from the planer board for positively retaining the trolling assembly to a fishing boat by its connection to the fishing line.
In one preferred embodiment, the body of the planer board comprises a hollow casing in which there is located at least one compartment that is a water-tight compartment. The continuous light source, the strike indicator, and the related power supply are housed in this water-tight compartment. Thus, in this embodiment, the planer board is made from a translucent material so that the light emanating from inside the water-tight compartment can be seen easily from some distance away. The continuous light source, useful when night fishing, may comprise one or several light sources connected in parallel, for providing continuously bright light.
Various embodiments of the trolling assembly may have strike indicators comprising a blinking light, a audio device, a strobe light, or any other means to indicate that a fish has struck.
Additionally, the planer board of the trolling assembly comprises:
i) an inboard surface, and
ii) a longitudinal lower surface where the edge that is formed by the conjunction of the inboard surface and the longitudinal lower surface is shaped to a hydrodynamic curved edge to direct the water flow to beneath the board.
Another embodiment of the planar board of the trolling assembly further comprises a second compartment located in the hollow space of the planar board casing which contains a buoyant object capable of increasing the buoyancy of the planar board where such an object may be a light-weight, sturdy to the elements, foam block.
Still yet another embodiment comprises a fin on the inboard surface of the planar board for directing the movement of the board. The fin may be integrally molded with the planer board or it may be fixedly attached to the planer board.
The fishing line releases of the trolling assembly comprise:
i) a first clamping jaw having a distal and proximal end and a first and second surface;
ii) a second clamping jaw having a distal and proximal end and a first and second surface, and
iii) a moveable clamping collar to fit about the first and second clamping jaws; wherein the first clamping jaw and the second clamping jaw are coupled at their respective distal ends to effectively bias their proximal ends apart from each other so as to provide a space into which a fishing line is threaded, and where the collar fits about the two parts to counter-bias the proximal ends toward each other to reversibly hold the fishing line. The fishing line release is preferably made of a non-metal material and may be manufactured by a molding process.
Still other benefits and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the following detailed specification and related drawings.